Symmetry wrote:Odd week for the the debate about illegal immigrants.
On the one hand we have the Pulitzer Prize winning journalist Jose Antonio Vargas admitting that he was brought into the US aged 11 without proper documentation.
On the other hand, we have John McCain and a few other Arizona Republicans claiming that wildfires in that state were caused by illegal immigrants. When pushed for evidence, however, they were curiously unwilling to provide it. Questions about how they know illegal immigrants started the fires were replied to with the statement:While Arizonans continue to face the enormous challenges related to these wildfires, it's unfortunate that some are inserting their political agenda into this tragedy.
While I'm unsure if that statement represents some of the most rank hypocrisy I've seen recently, I do think that Americans should be concerned about immigrants coming over and stealing their Pulitzer Prizes.
Irony, yes. However, McCain's statement was not, as you claim without evidence. He made the comment based on statements by Forest Service and state fire fighting agency officials.
As a point of fact, illegal aliens do start some wildfires, not necessarily intentionally, but because they may wind up living in the woods, having campfires, etc. You also have to understand that conditions out west can be so very, very dry that anything from a random piece of debris hitting a car muffler and flying to lawn mowers to, of course, the old improperly tended campfire can cause a wildfire to start. Of course, there are a few arsonists and other idiots among the illegal workers. However, what this really shows another reason to provide some kind of safe housing for illegal workers.
